The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

Nina’s discovery that she is included in the will of a man she never knew to be her father forms a crucial plot device that allows the author to explore the linked themes of family bonds and biological inheritance. Although Nina initially maintains that she doesn’t want anything that William Reynolds might have left her, she reconsiders this stance as she comes to value her newfound family as the other gifts that William has bequeathed to her. Within this context, William’s letter makes the insightful observation that Nina should “hold on to the family [she has] suddenly acquired” (299) because they are his “gift” to her, just as Nina is his gift to them. Until this moment, Nina has perceived William to be nothing more than a serial abandoner, for he left his first wife and cheated on his second and represented a distant figure in the lives of his older children and grandchildren. Likewise, he played no role whatsoever in Nina’s life, although she later learns that this was only due to her mother’s insistence. In his letter, he admits his guilt over his past mistakes, and when he acknowledges his tendency to hide from his flaws, Nina recognizes this tendency in herself as well.